Snooker legend Willie Thorne, 65, splits from wife of 24 years and ex-Miss GB Jill Saxby after racking up huge £1m debt
TROUBLED snooker legend Willie Thorne has split from his wife of 24 years.
The BBC commentator, whose gambling addiction has left him £1m in debt, announced that he had separated from Jill Saxby, 59.
Father-of-three Thorne, 65, credits his wife, a former Miss Great Britain, for saving his life.
In 2015, at the height of his gambling addiction, Thorne told how his wife had stopped him as he attempted to take his life in a hotel room their home in Leicester.
Speaking about the incident in an interview Jill later said: “I knocked on the door and said I was coming in. Willie was on the bed, eyes red, shaking and sobbing.
“It was heartbreaking to see. There were three letters on the side – one to me and two others to other members of the family.”
Earlier this year the pair moved to Villamartin in Spain. Thorne is offering snooker lessons there to ex-pats and also works as an after-dinner speaker.
But Thorne’s money woes are believed to have put a huge strain on the marriage.
And yesterday in an announcement on social media Thorne confirmed the pair, who met in 1994 and married the following year, were no longer together.
He said: “Just so everybody knows and before rumours start Jill and I have separated and she has gone back to the UK. I hope to be staying here in Spain.”
After Thorne stopped playing in the mid 1990s, he was a commentator on snooker for the BBC for 20 years.
But he was axed from his job in 2017 and has since struggled to earn a living. Three months ago he told of how he had built up huge debts.
He said: “I probably borrowed £1million over the years in order to gamble – and I am still in debt from it all.
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“When I look back it upsets me. I do not think I have made many good money decisions.
“The last three years have been a struggle, so I am trying my hardest to get work and get back on my feet.”
The moustachioed snooker legend, nicknamed ‘Mr Maximum’ after his 147-break in the 1987 UK Championship, is best pals with fellow Leicester-born Match of the Day host Gary Lineker.